It was the closest thing a co-owner of a 2-5, last-place team could make to a vote of confidence.
Despite the ongoing difficulties of a club that is losing games and making scoring points an impossible task, John Mara stated Wednesday night that he has no plans to make a move with Giants general manager Joe Schoen or head coach Brian Daboll, either now or in the near future.
Mara remarked, “Obviously, we’re all really disappointed with where we are right now.” We are not making any changes this season, and I do not expect to make any changes in the offseason either, I will say that.
“I won’t analyse the performances of certain players, the offence vs defence, or anything similar. All I wanted to do was say that.
“There will be a time and a place after the season to talk about this in more detail.’’
Mara was giving a speech at a significant and poignant occasion for him and his family: the Paley Centre for Media’s presentation of “The Duke: Wellington Mara’s Giant Life.”
As part of the ongoing celebration of the Giants’ 100th season, the documentary, which followed the life of his father, franchise founder Wellington Mara, will be broadcast on NFL Network on Friday night.
John Mara stated he wanted to apply a lesson he learnt from his father to stay the course as he thought about his legacy.
“I believe that I should try to be more patient than I may have been in the past few years,” Mara stated. “I’m dedicated to Joe and Brian Daboll and giving them a chance to turn this around because he always preached that and I’ve probably been guilty of not being patient enough in recent years.”
It’s really challenging because fans haven’t had a great decade or twelve, which makes things especially challenging. However, you must act morally, and we are dedicated to doing so and completing this process.
The Giants are headed for their tenth losing season in the previous twelve years, and their eighth in the previous nine.
Schoen and Daboll’s debut was a huge success; the Giants finished 9-7-1, won their first postseason game since the 2011 season, and Daboll was voted NFL Coach of the Year.
It has been all downhill since then, with the Giants finishing last in the NFC East with a record of 6-11 in 2023 and 0-3 in the division and 0-4 at home, scoring just one touchdown in the four losses. Mara was impatient when he fired Ben McAdoo before two full seasons, and he also fired Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge after two seasons each.
Since Tom Coughlin spent 12 years with the Giants, Daboll is the first head coach to reach the third year.
Even though the evidence is becoming more and more damning, Mara maintains his belief that Schoen and Daboll can make things better.
Mara stated, “Well, just the procedure that they have, being in the meeting with them.” “I still have faith in both of them when they discuss their assessment of our staff and where they see us moving forward.”
Mara declined to discuss quarterback Daniel Jones’ difficulties.
He declared, “I won’t get into criticising specific players.” “It’s evident that we’re having offensive difficulties at the moment, but there are numerous causes for that.”
Back in the winter, Mara listened to Schoen explain why it was preferable for the team to avoid making a significant financial commitment to Saquon Barkley.
Mara finally came to terms with that idea, but he acknowledged that if Barkley signed with the Eagles, he would not be able to sleep at night.
The day of reckoning finally came last Sunday, when Barkley ran for 176 yards and one touchdown in a 28-3 Eagles thumping at MetLife Stadium, playing against his old team for the first time.
“He understands my feelings for him,” Mara remarked of Barkley. “I can’t say that his game caught me off guard. Before the game, we exchanged greetings. He is an excellent player. In addition to being a fantastic player for us, he also knows that I will always be grateful for the way he represented us off the pitch.
Wellington Mara was shown in the video reliving memorable Giants moments and lifting Super Bowl trophies.
The 2011 season was the last time the Giants won a Super Bowl.
John Mara wants to relive those brighter times.
“More than you can ever know, believe me,’’ he said. “What affects me the most is that this has been difficult for me, my family, and especially for our fans.”
